ASHEVILLE, NC –“We’re switching things up a little. After four albums I’ve decided to step out and start using my own name. It’s something that a lot of people have encouraged me to do over the years, and I guess that 2017 just felt right.” That name, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters, is also the title of the band’s new album, which will be released by Organic Records June 9, 2017. “We’re keeping The Honeycutters too because we don’t want to confuse people… really, we’ve always been Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters. I think I’ve just gotten to a place where I feel comfortable enough to be in the spotlight.”

“Amanda is so good it’s ridiculous. I don’t even know what words to use. Her singing, songwriting and presence is unmatched in Americana, Country, Pop… Simply breathtaking,” said Saul Davis: producer (Percy Sledge), manager (Gene Clark, Carla Olson, Phil Seymour).

Lyrically driven, the songs on Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters blend the band’s old-school country roots attitude with their shared influences of rock and folk. Amanda says of the album, “I think it’s just about life and all that that entails. Including but not limited to death, strangers, birthdays, money, leaving, arriving, seasons, corruption, and love.”

Performing along with Platt, The Honeycutters are Matt Smith on pedal steel and Stratocaster, Rick Cooper on bass, Josh Milligan on drums and harmony vocals, and Evan Martin on keys and Telecaster.

Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters is the group’s third release on Organic Records, and fifth album. Assembling the same the same team as 2016’s On The Ropes, Balsam Range’s Tim Surrett steps in for the second time to co-produce this album along with Amanda. Its thirteen tracks were recorded, mixed, and mastered by Scott Barnett at Crossroads Studios in Arden, NC near the band’s hometown of Asheville, NC.

There is an empathetic and charming wit ingrained in Amanda’s songwriting. She has a knack for accessing a deep well of emotion and applying it to her story-telling, whether she is writing from her own experiences or immersing herself into the melody of emotions in another person’s life.

In the lead off track, “Birthday Song,” Amanda writes with a gentle optimism, “Every time it gets colder I get another year older… I start looking for lines in the bathroom mirror… but when I lay down at night I swear I must have done something right… cause I’m still so damn glad to be here… I’ve been trying to love the questions, and keep on guessing.” Written just before her 30th birthday, Platt calls the song, “a summation of everything I learned in that decade.”

There is an easygoing warmth to the album, enhanced by the its refined arrangement and production; from the upbeat “Diamond in the Rough” to the poetic and observational “Eden” to the very personal, yet universal, “Brand New Start” to “Late Summer’s Child” (an ode to her favorite season) and “Rare Thing” (a song commissioned from Platt from a fan as a love song to his wife that ended up being included on the album. “Your mama said that it would never last… but these years go by so fast… and you’re the song I’m humming to myself as I’m counting the miles… you’re such a rare thing.”) One can feel it even in songs with a more solemn concept behind them like, like “Long Ride,” which speaks of living in the moment in the face of mortality.

Platt wrote “Learning How To Love Him” after hearing an acquaintance of hers talk about learning that her husband of 40+ years was terminally ill. She says, “What really struck me was how she described the tenderness that the news brought back to their relationship.” Amanda sings, “’I woke last night and I felt so afraid, I turned on the light and shook him awake and we stared at the ceiling, listening to the sink drip… I spent my whole life learning how to love him and I never loved him more than I do today.”

The successes of On The Ropes [2016] and Me Oh My [2015] have propelled Amanda Anne Platt and The Honeycutters onto the national scene and they have been featured on NPR’s World Cafe’s Sense of Place, NPR’s Mountain Stage, Nashville’s Music City Roots, and Folk Alley and they have performed at AmericanaFest, MerleFest, and IBMA. On The Ropes debuted at #39 on iTunes Top 40 Country Chart on release day and landed on a plethora of year end lists including placing #35 on the Top 100 Albums played on Americana Radio in 2016 and landing at #1 on Western North Carolina’s WNCW Radio’s Year End Listeners Poll of Top Albums of 2016!

On The Ropes hit #11 on the EuroAmericana Chart and The UK’s Julian Piper with Acoustic Magazine says, “Amanda Platt has one of those gorgeous heartache-drenched voices that brings to mind Loretta Lynn or Sheryl Crow.”

Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters plan to tour extensively in US this year and will travel to Europe for the first time in the summer. They are excited to release Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters to the world this spring!

The Honeycutters, an Asheville-based American Country Roots Band,Release 4th Studio Album, On The Ropes, May 20, 2016 on Organic RecordsNow available: CD, Vinyl and DigitaliTunes, Amazon, Tower Records, and Select-O-Hits

ASHEVILLE, NC — The Honeycutters have a voice you can’t ignore; a voice of persistence, of struggle and of hope, a voice that leads the new music movement erupting out of Asheville, NC. Their new album On The Ropes is out today, May 20, 2016 on Organic Records. Nashville’s Music City Roots’ Craig Havighurst says principal songwriter and frontwoman, Amanda Anne Platt “has a voice that’s complex, sweet and aching. Even more potently, she writes songs that folks are citing as up there with the best of the field, such as Mary Gauthier and Lucinda Williams.” This morning the album hit #38 on the iTunes Top 40 Country Chart and #12 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases on Folk. It is currently at #1 on the Roots Music Report’s Country Chart! and #10 on the The Alternate Root Magazine’s Roots 66 Chart!

Joining Amanda Platt to round out The Honeycutters are Rick Cooper, alternating between upright and electric bass, accentuating the band’s delve deeper into a rock sound blending with their old-school country roots attitude. Along with drummer Josh Milligan the two create a powerful pocket and groove that locks the album together, with Milligan’s vocal harmonies complementing and enhancing Platt’s lead. The pedal steel work of Matt Smith brings unexpected rock licks on an instrument traditionally reserved for a classic country sound in tracks like “Blue Besides” and “Only Eyes”. Smith also shows his prowess on electric guitar with rock, and R&B flavored runs and solos like in “Golden Child”. Tal Taylor’s mandolin cuts through with bitey, bluesy notes and fierce tremolo that pushes the instrument beyond its obvious folk appeal.

On The Ropes was produced by Amanda Anne Platt and Tim Surrett and engineered and mastered by Van Atkins at Crossroads Studios in Arden, NC.

What Folks Are Saying about On The Ropes:

Amanda Anne Platt. Photo By Leah Beilhart.

“Their songwriting is first rate, their arrangements and instrumental ability in top form and with a front woman as assertive and impressive as singer Amanda Anne Platt, there’s nothing lacking in presence or execution. The songs may revolve around the need for assurance and affirmation, but clearly, Platt and her colleagues… have every contingency covered.” ––No Depression, Lee Zimmerman

“Pratt is a gifted songwriter and vocalist… She has an authoritative, confident voice that can be sweet, aching, and joyous, sometimes even in the same song. Pratt’s voice and the interplay of the guitar and mandolin give this band their unique complex sound – a clear-sounding mash-up of Americana, bluegrass, folk, and honky-tonk.” ––Elmore, Jim Hynes

“On The Ropes wonderfully showcases Platt’s dazzling songwriting skills with themes of loss, loneliness, nostalgia and getting the shit kicked out of you by love. All thirteen tracks are original material, except for a fascinating cover of Leonard Cohen’s iconic “Hallelujah”, sung in a spellbinding manner and just dripping of honeysuckle and moonshine.” —That Music Mag, Jane Roser

“Amanda Anne Platt is a master songwriter, not because she finds unusual metaphors, creates cute wordplay, or buries deep psychological meaning in her lyrics, but because her songs are so effortlessly conversational. She’s like that old friend at the bar who sidles up to you real close, in your personal space, and grabs your forearm to get your attention because she really really wants to make sure you get what she’s telling you. Her songs command attention because they are so darn human you believe them.” —Americana Music Show, Calvin Powers

“On The Ropes is brimming with affecting, relatable, and on point lyrics… It’s not just Platt’s ability to tap into emotions and experiences so keenly that makes On The Ropes so special, the band’s tight musicianship brings Platt’s lyrics to new heights. Tal Taylor’s mandolin adds something special to every song as does Matt Smith’s pedal steel, dobro, and electric guitar while Rick Cooper (upright and electric bass) and Josh Milligan (drums/harmony vocal) expertly keep a precise beat.” —The Daily Country, Tara Joan

“Make no mistake, The Honeycutters are a country band in every sense of the word. They are the type of ‘country’ that has the ability to save country music radio, in the same way as Sturgill Simpson, Whitey Morgan, and Chris Stapleton. They will probably stay firmly within the Americana charts and radio promotions and do very well there, but each time I put on their album I can’t escape the heavy realization of how much country music radio needs them right now.” —Lonesone Banjo Chronicles, Brian Swenk

“While her country-flavored songs almost always tell a story, The Honeycutters’ musical approach adds a dimension to the tunes that only widens their appeal.” —Mountain Xpress, Bill Kopp

The Honeycutters. Photo by Leah Beilhart.

“Amanda Anne Platt doesn’t sound like everyone else. Her voice has its own sweet yet strong, recognizable ring, and the songs she writes sound like old friends, yet are new and relevant.” —Asheville Citizen Times, Carol Rifkin

“More fans should attach themselves to her brand of poignant songwriting and Lucinda Williams-like singing… The Honeycutters aren’t like anything on today’s country music radio. The group’s music, though, is like the country music that once blared through AM radio, complete with steel guitar and a dash of Western swing.”
—Hendersonville Times News/ GoUpstate, Jason Gilmer

“This here is sawdust floor and longneck honky-tonk. North Carolina’s The Honeycutters swings gentle to and fro, with a knockout punch of steel guitar, and a rhythm section that adheres gloriously to the 2/4. This is the country music you’ve been missing. The genre’s purity gets redefined by songbird Amanda Anne Platt. It’s all around beautiful and timeless.” ––Rochester City Paper, Frank De Blase

“On The Ropes is a worthy successor to Me Oh My. It’s relatable and heart-breaking, buoyant and hopeful. The Honeycutters just keep getting better and it’s thrilling to hear it.” —Popshifter, Melissa Bratcher

“On The Ropes shows more versatility from The Honeycutters with a bit of rock and pop influence in the production, while still keeping the songs firmly planted in country music. The songs and lyrics are richer, exploring more topics, and Platt’s vocals sound as good as ever.” —Country Perspective, Derek Hudgin

“On Ropes, Platt asks the hard questions and avoids easy answers, both lyrically and musically. The pieces are familiar ones from just about any other country bar band, the pedal steel, the mandolin and guitar with touches of ‘grass, gospel and folk. Platt’s writing keeps these in play while raising the Honeycutters above the overly familiar tricks and cliches of the crowded genre. Love lost is hardly new territory, but she writes about it from a novel place.” —KRFC’s Route and Branches, Scott Foley

“All of those sad little pop singers need to get off country radio and let the Honeycutters take it from here. When I heard this album I felt the same way I felt when I first heard Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band. There’s not much of a point to making such comparisons however, because the Honeycutters are their own band… Thank god for bands like the Honeycutters, they give me faith that a group can remain true to their vision while still writing extremely memorable songs.” —Western Free Press, Skyler Miller

“There are a lot of lines that stand out, that ring true, lyrics you can hold onto.”
—Michael Doherty

“One of the best current acts to come out of Asheville is The Honeycutters, a great band ready to be discovered by the rest of America.” —Cincinnati City Beat, Derek Halsey

Song Premiere: LISTEN: The Honeycutters, “On The Ropes“ at Elmore Magazine →
“On The Ropes’ [is] a feel good barn-burner of a song that pairs Platt’s old-school country vocals with a rollicking, danceable melody. The harmonies laced throughout recall the roots tradition the band is steeped in, but the track is a radio-ready hit, dangerously catchy and perfect for when you need a little boost.”

Fantastic video of Tara Nevins performing her new Donna the Buffalo song “I Love My Tribe” solo backstage at The Green Parrot, in Key West, FL in Jan 2013. Thanks to Phil Sunkel and Hype-mag.com for coming out to shoot the vid and some great photos from the show as well.

What the Press is Saying About “Beauty Will Come”

“It’s natural, organic fresh air cool mountain stream music that strikes the right chord. It’s music meant to be played on the back porch at sundown while the coffee’s a ‘brewin’ and the soup is heatin’ up. This is the epitome of Americana and you probably won’t hear it on stupid ‘country’ radio” –Mike Greenblatt, Rant’n’Roll Aquarian Weekly

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“They can kick it with a reel, squeeze a country turnip until it bleeds, and tell a folk tale as well as most anybody, but where they really shine is their songwriting…” –Frank Gutch, Jr., FAME Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

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“I gotta say, this CD is INCREDIBLE!!! I loved it. It is full of wonderful songwriting, beautiful vocals and remarkable instrument work.”–Riley Baugus

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“With equal parts Celtic, old timey, trad country, and contemporary folk, Red June typifies what modern folk music is all about” –Steven Stone, AudiophileReview.com

“… airtight harmony that will impress even the toughest critic. Listen to their vocal blend on “I’m Willing To Try,” and you may need to have your jaw surgically removed from the floor – they are that good!” –Chuck Dauphin, Music News Nashville

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“From git-down instrumentals to lovely waltzes, even a set of Irish reels, every piece is played with confidence and soul.” —Fiddle Freak

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“The single vocal microphone they situated around might as well have been a campfire as they performed with such grace and a true reverence for those who chose to spend some time with them.” –Scott T. Horowitz, The Upful Life and Times, Suwannee Springfest Review

“Beauty Will Come by Red June just may be the most stunningly gorgeous country album in years. Everything about it: from the exquisite three-part harmonies and acoustic loveliness of the mandolin, fiddle, guitar and upright bass (no drums!) to the compositional prowess extolling home and hearth, family and true love ways. It’s natural, organic fresh air cool mountain stream music that strikes the right chord. It’s music meant to be played on the back porch at sundown while the coffee’s a ‘brewin’ and the soup is heatin’ up. This is the epitome of Americana and you probably won’t hear it on stupid ‘country’ radio” –Mike Greenblatt, Rant’n’Roll Aquarian Weekly

“Red June plays a hybrid of folk, country and bluegrass in many of its attendant forms. They can kick it with a reel, squeeze a country turnip until it bleeds, and tell a folk tale as well as most anybody, but where they really shine is their songwriting. All three have an innate feel for the music of the past and, without rehashing the formulas of the past, write in their own styles, fitting each song to their strengths. The main strength? Vocals. Vocals are not all they do, but they do them so well that you get lost in them at times. Three voices, blended yet individual, singing for harmonic joy or sadness or singing for the joy of singing itself.” –Frank Gutch, Jr., FAME Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

“Will Straughan, John Cloyd Miller, and Natalya Weinstein possess a airtight harmony that will impress even the toughest critic. Listen to their vocal blend on “I’m Willing To Try,” and you may need to have your jaw surgically removed from the floor – they are that good!” –Chuck Dauphin, Music News Nashville

“I gotta say, this CD is INCREDIBLE!!! I loved it. It is full of wonderful songwriting, beautiful vocals and remarkable instrument work. John and Natalya and Will really have it going on with this recording. The tone of the recording itself is great. Not too much of this trick or that trick that folks sometimes think they need to use in the studio to make good music sound good.” –Riley Baugus

“With equal parts Celtic, old timey, trad country, and contemporary folk, Red June typifies what modern folk music is all about” –Steven Stone, AudiophileReview.com

“Perhaps the most admirable aspect of this album it the fact that with every track you listen to comes almost a totally different sub-genre or ‘form’ of Americana music. Ranging from folk, to bluegrass, to old-time, the sixth track of the album, ‘I’m Willing to Try’, is a brilliantly executed gospel number, done a capella, and strategically flows into a bluesy mid-tempo bluegrass tune, ‘Cloud of Dust’. The album finishes out by continuing its theme of surprising the listener with each new track, (me anyway), and keeping things fresh. The final track that you will hear, ‘Red Sky Of Morn’, is definitely their most folky on the album and seems to be an appropriate way to close it out. —Awaiting the Flood

“The material on Beauty is almost all self-penned by the band, running the gamut of modern bluegrassy folk. From git-down instrumentals to lovely waltzes, even a set of Irish reels, every piece is played with confidence and soul. But on the singing is where they shine like the summer sun. With warm lilting three-part harmonies and instrumental prowess to match” —Fiddle Freak

“There are shades of Tim O’Brien and Seldom Scene and Buck White & The Down Home Folks in the music, somehow. Not in the actual voices, but in the phrasing. It is a process, I think. They are processing well.” –Frank Gutch, Jr., FAME Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange

“undeniably charming” –JC, 3rd Coast Music

Red June looking out the the Cabin Stage window at Merlefest 2012. Photo by Tim Timberlake.

Dreamspider Publicity is so excited about MerleFest 2012! Dreamspider is working with 5 acts that will be performing this weekend including Donna the Buffalo, Red June, The Honeycutters, Johnson’s Crossroad, and Jonathan Scales Fourchestra. Both Red June and The Honeycutters have albums due out soon! Please click on the images for links to their websites.

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Donna the Buffalo’s feel-good, groove-oriented, danceable and often socially conscious music all began over twenty years ago with roots in old time fiddle music that evolved into a soulful electric Americana mix infused with elements of cajun/ zydeco, rock, folk, reggae, and country. Donna the Buffalo is known for touring the country remaining fiercely independent as one of the industry’s most diverse roots-music bands and has “earned a reputation as one of the most respected, eclectic and hardest-working acts today,” praises Encore. The dynamic songwriting tandem of vocalists Jeb Puryear and Tara Nevins have penned over 180 songs in their collaboration with DTB and have many more in the making.

Saturday, April 28, 2012
Creekside Stage: 2-3:30PM Tara will sit in for a song with Peter Wernick’s Flexigrass

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Sunday, April 29, 2012
Traditional Tent: 11:30AM-12:30PM Tara will take part in the “Women Who Sing Traditional Music” workshop

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Red June is an acoustic trio based in Asheville, NC who creates and performs beautifully distilled Americana music. They are making waves with their dynamic, yet refined sound that features striking 3-part harmonies, tasteful instrumental work and honest, soulful songwriting that seamlessly blends old-time, bluegrass, roots rock and traditional country music. Poised to release their second full-length album, Beauty Will Come, on June 5th, 2012, listeners can expect an album to fall in love with. “The record is a brilliant integration of old-time, bluegrass, and beyond, and feels like a holding of hands… the blend is beautiful,” says singer/songwriter Kari Sickenberger of Polecat Creek. Red June is made up of Will Straughan on resonator guitar, vocals and guitar, John Cloyd Miller on mandolin, vocals and guitar, and Natalya Weinstein on fiddle and vocals.

The Honeycutters are excited to introduce their second full length studio release, When Bitter Met Sweet this spring. Like their first release, Irene, When Bitter Met Sweet features singer/songwriter Amanda Anne Platt, who has been hailed as “one of the best songwriters coming out of WNC these days” by WNCW programming director Martin Anderson. Peter James accompanies her on lead and rhythm guitar as well as harmony vocals. The Real Southern Say, “I can see a day when her name is mentioned alongside Lucinda Williams, Mary Gauthier and Gillian Welch. She’s just that good.”

Johnson’s Crossroad has been described by friends and fans as everything from Appalachian Soul” to “Hillbilly Metal.” The band blends blues, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, and Appalachian Old Time for a sound that The Daily Times’ Steve Wildsmith calls “both mournful and jubilant, breezy and graveyard serious.” He goes on to comment that frontman Paul Johnson’s voice “barely rises above a growl, but he stretches that sound to encompass the experience of a train-hopping hobo and the wisdom of an old man recalling loves lost and wars fought from the porch of a backwoods cabin.” Watching his back is mandolin player Keith Minguez, a strong friendship at the core of the group… ironically enough the band originated on Keith’s first visit to MerleFest watching John Hartford perform.
*Johnson’s Crossroad MerleFest Schedule:

Classically trained composer turned steel pan maestro and front man of the Fourchestra, Jonathan Scales is heavily influenced by the complexity of banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck to the hustle of Jay-Z and is known for his unique presentation of the Steel Pan that brings the instrument into new realms of musical influence and has been called, “… a rising star of the steel drums” by Traps Magazine and “The Real Deal [with] a Thelonius Monk-like attitude with a Mozart creativity that works” by Pan on the Net. Fusion-chops bassist, Cody Wright provides the harmonic support for Scales’ sound, while jazz/hip-hop drummer, Phill Bronson, drives the time-shifting, modern grooves. Premier Steel Pan Magazine When Steel Talks says, “At the end of the day, Scales is going to be a major play in rewriting the books on steelpan music outside of the box.”

Effortlessly crafting a fusion of folk, classical, jazz, and blues, the Galen Kipar Project has been hailed as “complex yet accessible” and “cohesive and poignant” with “experimental folk masterpieces.” Based in Asheville, GKP released their fourth album The Scenic Route in 2010 which features the unique sonorous sound that has become the band’s trademark. “In Asheville, fans call his act a ‘small-scale symphony.’ It’s probably more like chamber folk/pop, sometimes reminiscent of Adrian Belew’s quieter moods,” says The Roanoke Times writer Tad Dickens. Joining vocalist Galen Kipar on guitars & harmonica is Lyndsay Pruett on violin & vocals.

Galen Kipar is currently writing new music and in the pre-production phase of the next album. The WCGazzette writes, “Kipar says ripples of his trout-tinted soul will continue to be felt in the band’s upcoming release. ‘It will be accessible, with catchy hooks,’ he says of the album. ‘[But] it will also be complex enough that a fan will be able to listen to it and still come back and hear something new. That’s always been our goal.'”

Galen’s other endeavor keeps him on the water as he serves as a trout ninja (aka. fly fishing guide) with Curtis Wright Outfitters to Western North Carolina which has over 3000 miles of trout waters and streams. He gets much of his inspiration for songwriting while standing waist deep in a river. Galen states in an interview with the WVGazette, “Water, particularly rivers, have many different currents. Music is the same way,” he says. “Music has many different currents, and they all work together. Maybe that’s a little far-fetched, but it’s something that’s always fascinated me.”

True to his inspiration, Galen sings in the song Riversong, “Headin’ on down to the waterside, gonna take some time, to rest my mind. Gonna break there, gonna stay there. For a moment there, I’ll sigh.” Water is a consistent theme in his uplifting music. “I could easily picture myself finding a secluded stream high on the mountain and lying in the warm sun as the Galen Kipar Project played softly in the background. Maybe I can talk them into hiking with me one day, with instruments in hand, of course. I would even offer to carry a few things,” states Magazine 33.

The fan base of the Galen Kipar Project is growing exponentially, with a strong regional presence in the Southeast plus U.S. national touring, including performances at Magnolia Fest, Suwanee Springfest, FloydFest, Six Points Music Festival, and the Crested Butte Music Series. The GKP has also played the Knitting Factory in NYC and to a jam-packed, toe-tapping crowd at the Kennedy Center’s renowned Millennium Stage in Washington DC. This fall they will be returning to Magnolia Fest amongst other shows on their tour.

The New River Voice recalled, “If the Pied Piper-like migration of people to the stage during their FloydFest performance is any kind of barometer, the band is on an immutable trajectory of permeating Southwest Virginia with their versatile, yet immediately attainable sonority.”